We recently connected with Kimberly Swedelius and have shared our conversation below.
Kimberly, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
Of course hard work is key. But something that may go under the radar is just being personable, open and real with people. When you develop genuine relationships with folks you really stand out from the crowd. Be one hundred percent yourself. Don’t be afraid of being “too this”, or “too that”, or “not enough of something else”. You will never be able to please every person out there. You’ll probably piss some people off even, But I’d rather piss some people off and totally excite others than just be a watered down version of myself trying to cater to the masses. Constantly experimenting and getting out of your comfort zone is also central to growth and success.
Kimberly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I was 12 I was gifted a film camera by my aunt who was a photojournalist at the time. I ended up falling in love with photography and after lots of round abouts and twists and turns and other college pursuits I ended up with a degree in commercial photography.. After working as a freelance photographer for a bit I started to really dislike the tech part of it all and missed the physical creation of a set, scene or room. I gradually moved into full time styling, essentially trading in all my gear for lots of treasures and props. After some time in the corporate world at an online retailer (at this point I had moved up to art director), I felt I could no longer create as I used to. I was stifled by brand requirements, merchant requests, awkward web layouts, creative directions that felt dated and never changing. Then I lost my mom in 2017 and it just felt like I needed to act because life is too short to be unhappy with what you are doing with the majority of your time. So I made the leap and plunged into the uncertainty of the freelance world as a stylist, leaving behind the stable well paying job. It was a little hard getting started and then the pandemic hit I stuck it out though and eventually have built up a pretty successful business across three cities – Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
The majority of my work is interior shoots, collaborating with designers and architects and home owners to document their beautiful rooms. This can be either for their personal portfolios, publications, or both.
The job is not easy but it feels basic. I go into a room and try to make a beautiful design (well I have to admit there are times where the designs are not the most exciting and that’s of course even more difficult) into a beautiful picture. There are so many parts that are not fun and not glamorous. My car is full of stuff all the time. The four part process of packing, loading, unloading, unpacking has to be done two times for each shoot and that drives me crazy. There are shopping and returns trips too. At times I have an assistant but to be honest finding the right fit and finding a person who wants to do all the dirty work with a very sporadic schedule is tricky.
One of the things I bring to the table is my love of thrifting and antiquing which allows me to find treasures that I bring to the set. I’m constantly looking for fun unique items, mostly vintage. Over the last 5 years I’ve amassed quite a collection of accessories and art. I will probably always continue to hunt for special items, it’s my favorite part of this job. I’m also repurposing or creating original art a lot of times when something specific is needed at the last minute. I’ve a
I love working with floral and using foraged branches and greenery to enliven a space, which I can partially attribute to my mother and grandmother, who were both florists.
I think having the background in photography has helped tremendously. Understanding light is so beneficial when picking and placing objects on a set or in a room. The job is definitely a unique one. I work hard, I am focused on the job and enjoy collaborating with people to figure out the best way to shoot a room. I’m resourceful and willing to do what it takes to make the shoot go well.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Honestly Instagram! When I knew I was going to be quitting my corporate job I started really building up my portfolio for about 6 months, using Instagram really for the first time late in the game. And it’s not like I have a ton of followers but I used it genuinely and honestly. Sharing personal work, researching folks whose work I admired and would love to collaborate with one day, messaging people directly seeing if they wanted to meet up for a coffee or wanted to test shoot By the time I left my corporate job I had a few potential clients, some great connections in a new city, and just kept building off that. It doesn’t take a ton of followers, just the genuine ones that you can truly connect with. Find the like minded folks, reach out to those whose work you admire. You never know where something will lead and what kind of relationships will be built – professional working and also friendships. I would say at least 75% of my new clients have come from instagram, and the others are referrals from those clients, so my client base just keeps growing. I’m very grateful.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Lesson: That you should say yes to everything in work. Take any job that comes your way.
I can understand this to a point. I think when you are first starting your career, this especially applies to freelancers and the self employed, we have this idea that any job is worth taking. That even if the pay is poor it will get our name out there. That even if you aren’t excited about the brief or the team that you will learn something from it. So just take the job and be grateful you have work. Well, for a bit that can be ok. All those things can be true and lessons can be learned, you can start to grow and learn more about who you are and what kind of work you want to put out into the world. Eventually though, you
come to a point that feels a little uncomfortable. You are saying “yes” to work that doesn’t align with your values or creative ideals, and this feels uneasy. You start to question “do I really NEED this money? Am I growing by saying yes or is this closing the door to different more aligned opportunity? When these questions start to pop up it’s time to realize it’s perfectly ok to say “no”. To start trusting your gut and letting it lead you to work that that is more aligned with your goals and values. Trust your intuition. If a little red flag pops up, it’s probably a good indicator that there are bigger red flags and issues ahead. It was extremely difficult for me to decline certain jobs even just a year or so ago. But I knew the minute I sent the email or made the all, saying I couldn’t do it, and the wave of relief that came over my whole body, that I had made the correct decision. And what’s even more affirming is when you hear in the end that these jobs did indeed encounter a lot of issues, the teams weren’t collaborative, it was messy from start to finish. That’s when you truly know you can trust your intuition and you don’t have to say yes to everything.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kswedelius.com
- Instagram: @kimberlyswedelius
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/kimberly-swedelius-63a5311b
Image Credits
1,2,4,7 : Ryan McDonald 3,5,6 : Heather Talbert Personal photo: Emily Holmes